Secretary of State Marco Rubio Remarks to the Press

On a website, a message like “Exception: forbidden” almost always means the server understood your request but is refusing to show the page – a 403 “Forbidden”‑type error. That usually reflects an access or permissions problem (for example, a misconfigured security rule, IP/geolocation blocking, or a page restricted to certain users), not that your browser is broken. On state.gov this message is wrapped inside their generic “technical difficulties” page, which suggests it is an internal access or configuration issue on their side rather than normal content removal.

Yes. The “Secretary of State Marco Rubio Remarks to the Press” transcript is an official State Department product. The original URL sits under state.gov in the “Office of the Spokesperson” releases section, and the same text is mirrored on U.S. government sites and partner archives explicitly labeled as “US Department of State – Remarks to the Press.” That indicates it is an official, on‑the‑record State Department press briefing transcript, even though the site is currently returning a technical error.

Yes. Although the specific state.gov page is erroring, the full transcript is available from:

• U.S. Embassy & Consulates in China: an official U.S. government mirror of the transcript.
• GlobalSecurity.org: a defense‑focused archive that republishes State Department transcripts.
• Mirage News: a news aggregation site that reposted the State Department text.

In addition, news coverage of the same briefing by major outlets (e.g., AP, AllSides summarizing Al Jazeera) confirms the event and its main themes, even if they do not reproduce the full transcript verbatim.

Yes. Multiple independent sources confirm both the date and that the event occurred:

• The transcript itself (via U.S. Embassy China and GlobalSecurity mirrors) is dated “Press Briefing Room, Washington, D.C., December 19, 2025.”
• AP News reports that Secretary Rubio held a lengthy year‑end news conference at the State Department on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025, matching the transcript’s description.
• AllSides’ summary of Al Jazeera’s coverage refers to Rubio’s “two‑hour briefing to reporters” as a year‑end briefing, consistent with the same event.

The state.gov URL uses a December 20, 2025 publication date for the posting, but the remarks themselves took place on December 19, 2025 in Washington, D.C.; both the occurrence and timing are well confirmed.

The error could, in principle, come from intentional access restrictions, but the available evidence points more toward a technical or configuration problem than deliberate removal:

• state.gov is serving a generic “We’re sorry, this site is currently experiencing technical difficulties. Exception: forbidden” page, rather than a normal 404 “not found” or a public notice of withdrawal, which is what State typically uses when content is removed.
• The same “Exception: forbidden” error appears on other Rubio‑related pages (such as his official biography), suggesting a broader access or configuration issue affecting parts of the site, not a single targeted article.
• The full text remains accessible from official or semi‑official mirrors (e.g., U.S. Embassy China, GlobalSecurity), which would normally be updated or taken down if the underlying content had been formally rescinded.

So while one cannot rule out deliberate access restrictions, the pattern is more consistent with a temporary or systemic access/permissions misconfiguration on state.gov.

For an official transcript or confirmation, the normal points of contact are:

• Office of the Spokesperson, U.S. Department of State: Handles press briefings and transcripts. You can email the main press office (the address is listed on state.gov’s “Office of the Spokesperson” or “Press Contacts” pages) or use the general contact form on state.gov.
• Bureau of Global Public Affairs / Public Communication Division: Manages public inquiries about Department statements and can often provide or locate transcripts.
• Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Office: For a formal records request if routine press‑office channels do not provide the document.

Because the specific email addresses and phone numbers can change, the safest approach is to use the contact information on the State Department’s official “Contact Us” and “Press Contacts” pages and reference the exact title (“Secretary of State Marco Rubio Remarks to the Press”) and date (December 19, 2025 briefing, posted December 20, 2025).